When Shen Ge and Fang Mingyue finally landed at the bottom of their fall, they felt as if they had landed on a soft cushion, similar to the texture of the earlier “intestinal” corridor.
At that moment, the System’s prompt sounded in Shen Ge’s mind—
[Warning!]
[Host is approaching a “5th-tier eerie entity.” Detection indicates the host’s current strength is no match for it. Engaging recklessly will likely result in a near-certain death. Host is advised to value their life and flee immediately!]
A second 5th-tier eerie entity!
Shen Ge clearly hadn’t expected both a “Crouching Dragon and a Young Phoenix”* to exist simultaneously within one hotel. After all, checking the System’s [Map], the red dots representing the hotel area were so numerous they had merged into a solid mass of red, making it impossible to distinguish large dots from small ones.
After encountering the familiar texture, Fang Mingyue also realized she had fallen into the entity’s belly. Initially, she felt some tension and worry, but seeing the faint hint of pleasure on Shen Ge’s face, her anxiety inexplicably vanished.
Shen Ge’s “confidence” subtly influenced Fang Mingyue. She assumed his happiness stemmed from the chance to eliminate another high-tier entity, which would solve a major problem for both survivors hidden in the city and future support teams.
Little did she know Shen Ge’s thinking was simpler: even without special traits, this 5th-tier entity was still worth 4000 System Points plus 3 F-grade Supply Items.
Put plainly, that was “money”!While having Little Seven detect the surrounding eerie energy density, Shen Ge and Fang Mingyue shone their flashlights around. The area looked similar to the “intestinal” corridor behind the black wall upstairs in the hotel.
An eerie red glow permeated the corridor, and heart-like “doors” lined both sides. Shen Ge walked up to one door and tried deploying his formless eerie domain to use “Collapse.”
Strangely, this time the collision between his domain and the wall created intense spatial distortion, warping the entire wall surface, but the “door” wasn’t torn open.
Without a word, Shen Ge directly used high explosives. With a deafening BOOM, the entire “intestine” shook violently. When the dust settled, the “door” remained intact.
“Interesting.” Shen Ge moved closer to the “door,” seemingly trying to discern how it differed from the ones upstairs.
These two “tests” gave Shen Ge a feeling of being targeted. The moment he used his ability and the bomb, Little Seven detected the entity gathering a massive amount of eerie energy precisely where he placed the explosive, successfully blocking the attack.
Was the entity this “smart” now?
It knew how to counter?
Something felt off to Shen Ge. He and Fang Mingyue continued forward, constantly trying various methods to destroy the “doors.”
Eerie domain collision, bombs, Molotov cocktails, high explosives, rocket launchers… These had minimal effect. However, the Anti-Eerie Revolver, with its strong penetrating power, could shoot through the “doors.”
After the eerie energy bullet from the revolver pierced a “door,” leaving a bullet hole, Shen Ge deployed his formless eerie domain, attempting to use the hole as a breakthrough point.
But the entity reacted swiftly. The moment spatial distortion began to form, powerful eerie energy gathered to “repair” the door.
Shen Ge tried breaking through several doors, but without exception, all were “blocked,” as if the entity had already seen through his methods of attack.
“Investigator Shen, do you think… this is like training an AI?” Fang Mingyue suddenly spoke.
The rapid development of AI relies heavily on being “fed” vast amounts of data. It’s like using AI for chess; constantly “feeding” it various game records results in the AI countering conventional moves before they are even made.
Fang Mingyue’s point was simple: in her view, Shen Ge’s current approach was “similar” to how he broke through the door upstairs. Therefore, his every move might have been recorded.
While eerie entities currently possess no discernible intelligence, this artificial entity seemed to operate based on specific instructions. It could indeed achieve an “AI training” effect, making the entity “smarter” and teaching it how to counter the methods of Eerie Investigators.
The primary reason Eerie Investigators could use eerie energy equipment crafted from entity corpses to fight eerie with eerie was their advantage in “intelligence.” Once this “edge” was negated, even if humans could create all sorts of bizarre eerie energy equipment, their bodies remained flesh and blood, unable to compete with the rapid regeneration of eerie entities.
“Master, detected eerie energy density in this area is ten times that of the upper level. Please exercise caution,” Little Seven suddenly reminded.
Hearing Little Seven’s warning, Shen Ge once again mentally scorned a certain System’s warning function. Little Seven, as an AI, was constantly “growing” by absorbing data. Although the System also “advanced” by devouring eerie entities, Shen Ge always felt it was a step slower than Little Seven.
After Little Seven’s reminder, Shen Ge roughly guessed why the “regeneration” speed here was so much faster than upstairs—fast enough to prevent his eerie domain from deploying properly.
A tenfold difference in eerie energy… If both were judged as “5th-tier entities” by the System’s future standards, the one upstairs was probably around 2nd-3rd tier in reality, while the one here was likely 3rd-4th tier.
If the latter was a true “4th-tier” in strength, that meant terror on the scale of the Chongqing incident, enough to overwhelm a city.
And this was just upon entering Tuokou City. In other words, these two 5th-tier entities were at most “elite mobs,” not even mini-bosses.
One could imagine how difficult the ultimate boss, “Misfortune,” would be!
“Investigator Shen… Do you feel like the space here is shrinking?” Fang Mingyue swept her flashlight over the floor, walls, and ceiling, feeling that compared to the area where they first landed, this place had narrowed somewhat.
Shen Ge had noticed the change in the corridor earlier; the dark corridor upstairs had similar changes, but it was more pronounced here.
“We are, after all, inside the entity’s belly. It can’t just let us run around freely. There will probably be other obstacles later.” Shen Ge recalled “Liu Zongrui” fused with the villa at Lahu Water City. To prevent him from roaming freely, chaotic space and time, along with various infected, parasitic eeries, gastric acid, and other things emerged one after another, all aimed at “killing” him, the intruder.
If they delayed here any longer, he and Fang Mingyue risked being “digested” by the entity. They had to find an exit quickly.
The two followed the long corridor to its end, where they encountered a strange “fork in the road.” Paths stretched left and right into the darkness beyond, while the middle path was bathed in an eerie red glow. Observing by the red light, it seemed not much different from the “intestinal” corridor behind them.
Shen Ge and Fang Mingyue both stopped at the “intersection” to observe. The red-lit corridor, besides giving the illusion of being no different from the one behind them, also subconsciously created mental pressure through its fear atmosphere, making people instinctively overlook this passage and choose the dark paths on either side.
But Shen Ge’s habit was: if you want me to choose this, I’ll just say “no”, which shows his rebellious mentality.
Shen Ge pulled two flashbang grenades from his Bloodskin Backpack and casually tossed them into the dark passages on the left and right.
Bang!
Bang!
The sound of the flashbangs exploding was clearly audible from both passages, but strangely, no blinding light accompanied the explosions.
Shen Ge withdrew his gaze, deciding to stick to his original plan and check out the middle dark red corridor first. Just as he prepared to step forward, his flashlight beam swept over the blood-red carpet on the floor, revealing strikingly clear black footprints.
The footprints were chaotic. Some went straight down the middle of the corridor, others stopped in front of the “doors.” Apart from the fact that every door had footprints approaching it, there seemed to be no discernible pattern.
Fang Mingyue crouched at the corridor entrance, shining her flashlight closely at the footprints. “Investigator Shen, these footprints look freshly made. Look, on this blood-red carpet, they don’t seem fully dry yet. Could other survivors have ended up here?”
Shen Ge swept his flashlight left and right, then asked in return, “Don’t these footprints look like two people? The ones on the left go to check every door, while the other set… always follows behind the first person. Although they also approach every door, they don’t get close to inspect.”
“These… are our footprints?” Fang Mingyue was momentarily stunned, then understood Shen Ge’s meaning.
These two distinct sets of footprints corresponded precisely to the patterns and routes she and Shen Ge had taken while walking through the previous “intestinal” corridor.
While Fang Mingyue was still reeling from the discovery of their own footprints, Shen Ge had already stepped into the red-lit corridor.
“Investigator Shen, this path feels strange in every way. Why are we still choosing it?” Fang Mingyue followed behind, somewhat confused.
Shen Ge used a matter-of-fact tone. “Precisely because it feels strange in every way, practically begging us with a sign to choose the other paths, that’s why we’re choosing this one.”
Fang Mingyue understood the concept of “protesting too much, hence guilt,” but she knew she couldn’t make such a decisive choice so confidently. After all, they were facing a high-tier entity; one misstep could lead to dire consequences.
Entering the red corridor, Shen Ge first noticed it felt narrower than the previous one. Secondly, Little Seven detected that the eerie energy density was trending higher again.
The other party was gathering all its eerie energy to envelop the corridor, preventing Shen Ge from using spatial distortion to escape.
“Is it planning to trap us to death in this ‘intestine’?” It seemed the entity realized his wall-phasing ability was troublesome and was taking countermeasures.
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on whether the entity had “evolved” again. The space was shrinking faster than before. Any further delay, and they would truly be trapped.
Shen Ge quickened his pace towards the “end,” wanting to test another hypothesis he had.
“Investigator Shen!” Fang Mingyue’s startled cry came from behind.
Shen Ge turned around to see Fang Mingyue in his vision beginning to distort. More accurately, the area where she was located was distorting.
Chaotic space!
Shen Ge had experienced this in the villa at Lahu Water City. He instinctively tried to step back, but upon passing through the distorted “air wall,” he found himself back in “the same spot.” It felt like he had stepped forward, but actually moved backward. And Fang Mingyue had vanished from his sight!
“Investigator Fang!” Shen Ge called out a few times, but there was no response from Fang Mingyue in the dark red corridor, not even an echo.
Shen Ge immediately deployed his formless domain and used “Collapse” on the “air wall” before him. After his domain collided with the air wall, a visible distortion appeared in the air again.
Shen Ge, clad in his full-body armor, attempted to pass through the distorted air wall. The next second, he was back in the “same spot,” exactly like before.
Shen Ge frowned slightly. If this path was blocked, he could only move forward. After all, destroying the eerie space was also a way to rescue the trapped Fang Mingyue.
On the other side, Fang Mingyue watched as Shen Ge, less than two meters away, suddenly disappeared from her sight along with the distorted picture. She immediately drew her Black Bone Dagger, gripped it tightly with both hands, and thrust it fiercely at the “air wall” in front of her.
The Black Bone Dagger was blocked by an invisible force. If Shen Ge were still here, he would probably quip about “AT Fields,” but Fang Mingyue was in no mood for that.
Fang Mingyue wasn’t worried about Shen Ge; given his strength, she believed he could overcome any danger.
But she worried about being a burden to him. If Shen Ge encountered danger because he tried to rescue her, she would never forgive herself.
Fang Mingyue decided to take the initiative. She took an Eerie Energy Canister from her backpack and inserted it into a slot on the eerie leather armor on her right shoulder, charging it with eerie energy.
Then, the “skin” of the eerie leather armor rapidly extended, covering Fang Mingyue’s body and arms, similar to how Shen Ge’s Rotten Flesh Armor functioned.
One Eerie Energy Canister could sustain the eerie leather armor’s full defense mode for 10 minutes. In other words, she had ten minutes to find a way out and reunite with Shen Ge.
Blocked by the invisible barrier ahead, Fang Mingyue decided to turn back and search for an exit first.
When she was about ten meters from the entrance of the dark red corridor, Fang Mingyue suddenly noticed a dark figure flash past the intersection. Instinctively, she followed the figure with her flashlight beam. Seeing the tall figure standing by the wall made her hair stand on end!
The “person” was at least three meters tall, clad in black armor. At first glance, it somewhat resembled Shen Ge in his full-body armor.
But the creature’s body was covered in barbs, its crimson eyes were exceptionally terrifying, and the area below its nose wasn’t a normal human face but an eerie, gaping maw.
Gurgle.
Gurgle.
The creature opened its mouth, emitting horrifying swallowing sounds. Black blood flowed from the base of every barb on its body, dripping continuously onto the floor. Each drop sizzled and corroded the ground upon contact, like potent acid.
Fang Mingyue’s flashlight beam shone directly on the creature, but it seemed unresponsive to the light. It stood motionless by the wall at the entrance.
Fang Mingyue could feel the terrifying, cold aura emanating from the creature. An intangible sense of oppression filled the air. She felt like a helpless child, utterly at the mercy of the creature’s fear power.
Behind her was an invisible barrier. Ahead was a terrifying eerie entity.
Fang Mingyue’s palms were sweaty. Tension and fear made her body stiff as she warily watched the creature’s every move.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Three minutes.
Every second felt like an eternity to Fang Mingyue.
But she soon noticed something odd. This “creature,” suspected to be an eerie entity, had been present for so long, and the distance was only about ten meters. Why hadn’t it taken any further action?
Fang Mingyue forced herself to calm down. What would Investigator Shen do in this situation?
As soon as the thought formed, an image flashed through her mind—
Shen Ge walking towards the creature with relaxed and leisurely steps, raising a hand casually in greeting: “Yo, good evening! Eaten yet?”
Fang Mingyue vigorously shook her head, dispelling the unrealistic image… Investigator Shen’s confidence and flair were built upon formidable strength, something she clearly lacked.
Having calmed down, Fang Mingyue didn’t retreat in fear because of the creature’s terrifying appearance. Instead, she tried to find its “weakness” through observation.
Then, she suddenly noticed the creature’s face looked familiar.
“The ghost face on the hotel lobby wall!” The moment Fang Mingyue realized the creature’s resemblance to the ghost face on the lobby wall, she immediately slowed her breathing.
The reason was simple. Based on Shen Ge’s series of tests, they had determined this entity was highly sensitive to sound and hunted its targets by detecting noise.
Fang Mingyue stared intently at the creature, ready for any sudden movement, while slowly reaching into her backpack and retrieving a grenade.
Click.
Fang Mingyue gently pulled the pin. Even this faint sound provoked a reaction from the creature; its crimson eyes snapped towards her.
Without the slightest hesitation, Fang Mingyue threw the grenade next to the creature!
BOOM!
The high-explosive grenade detonated beside the creature, but its effect felt like throwing a firecracker at an adult’s feet.
After throwing it, Fang Mingyue stood ready, holding the Black Bone Dagger in one hand and the Eerie Bone Staff in the other, watching the creature warily. The creature looked towards the explosion site and, after the dust settled, slowly turned its head back.
The creature’s body remained still; only its neck twisted towards Fang Mingyue’s direction. The angle of the twist exceeded ninety degrees, looking utterly gruesome.
Gurgle.
Gurgle.
The creature’s swallowing sounds grew louder, almost as if the dark red “intestinal” corridor was emitting the same noise, the two different sets of gurgles echoing each other.
Then, the creature let out a roar from its gaping maw and charged towards Fang Mingyue. It covered the ten-plus meter distance in the blink of an eye.
As the creature threw a punch at her, Fang Mingyue pushed off the ground with her feet, launching herself into a sideways dive. Simultaneously, she twisted her body mid-air and swung her Eerie Bone Staff, transforming it into a bone cage that enveloped the creature.
The creature grabbed the bone cage with both hands, roaring and trying to tear it apart. The cage warped under the creature’s immense strength.
Fang Mingyue wouldn’t let the creature escape the cage easily. Landing, she pushed off the ground, flipped to her feet, and lunged at the creature with the Black Bone Dagger, aiming straight for its crimson eye!
Thwip!
The next moment, black blood splattered!